“North Koreans hold the bridge. A roadblock is set up as an ambush about five hundred meters ahead. They have flanking positions on the hill. We will have to flank around them and follow the river into Seoul. I wish we had a couple more rifles and ammunition, canteens and your American MREs. We are going to get thirsty before we get back. We have perhaps a hundred-kilometer march ahead of us. If we stay near the river, it will be longer than going overland, but we won’t get lost and at least have water, however contaminated or dirty it is. You can bet there is a terrible battle going on for Seoul. We need to reach Seoul before it falls, or we will truly be trapped behind the lines. Time, therefore, is very important. What do you say, Major, are you up for a little stroll?”
With a wry grin, Bradley said, “Captain, you and Sergeant Park are the experts here, not me. Consider me a lowly private.” With that, he took out his Gerber folding knife from its sheath on his belt and cut off the sewn on badge of rank, the gold oak leaf on his right collar. “Lead on, gentlemen.”
A regiment of North Korean paratroopers had seized the bridge at Ch’unch’on in the predawn darkness. The battle was relatively brief, overwhelming the regimental sized South Korean reserve force that lived in Ch’unch’on. The South Koreans couldn’t get organized quickly enough to present an effective defense. As should have been anticipated, the armory was an objective as well as the bridge. Many South Korean reservists were killed as they reported to the armory to draw their weapons. One North Korean battalion seized the bridge, while the remainder of the division swept through the town. Males in the town who appeared to be between fifteen and sixty years of age were shot on sight without question or remorse. The roadblocks, so common along the highway, were not dynamited into place. The fifteen foot long hexagonal columns of carved rock, three feet in diameter, piled three or four deep, were supposed to roll onto the highway, blocking it when their concrete cradles were obliterated by the light charges of explosives placed in them. They still sat in their cradles.
It was obvious to Captain Koon that the North Koreans intended to drive down through Ch’unch’on in a flanking movement on Seoul. He figured the North just shot up the town, took out the reserve unit, and moved on. They might have left a battalion or two in town, but he knew that they were more interested in a blitzkreig operation rather than seizing and holding urban areas. The battalion’s job was to make sure the road was open for follow on forces. He didn’t tell Bradley that, but he knew that Sergeant Park realized it. Sergeant Park just looked at his captain and said northing. Enlisted men do not question the decisions of their officers in the Army of Republic of Korea; to do so results in a severe beating and loss of a month’s pay. Discipline. Sergeant Park also realized they had little choice. The North Korean columns would soon cut them off.
“Sergeant Park, take point. Major Bradley, bring up the rear. We will be about one hundred meters behind you, Sergeant. Major Bradley, follow me by about ten meters. I don’t want all of us to go down in an ambush.” He gave the rifle to Sergeant Park and nodded. “Henceforth, we will not talk unless absolutely necessary, and only then in whispers. Major, it would be very beneficial if you did not speak at all. Your English would be an immediate giveaway. Sergeant, take off.” Major Bradley nodded his assent.
They crept forward up to the bottom of the crest of the hill, then slowly down the other side. The brush was thick, and there were mature pine trees growing on the hillside. The pines had been planted under the arbor program to hold the soil and to establish a source of national timber. When the Japanese occupied Korea, they cut down every tree on the peninsula and exported it to Japan. Curving around the hill, they skirted around the ravine on the far side. After two hours of slow movement, mostly in a crouch, Robert Bradley’s legs and back ached. Carrying the case of MREs didn’t help. He wished he had spent a lot more time in the gym. Commuting two to three hours each way every day back and forth from Pennsylvania to Washington, D.C. however, left him little time for physical fitness. He could not find a place in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area that he felt was safe enough for his family, so he commuted from Pennsylvania, as did many others assigned to the D.C. area. After another hour, he absolutely ached, and wondered how Captain Koon and Sergeant Park were able to move so well. On a hillside two hundred meters above the road, Sergeant Park stopped to allow the other two to catch up and take a break. They carefully kneeled in the brush. All were quite thirsty. Captain Koon had indicated they would move downhill to the river for water when they heard the traffic. They kneeled back down. After five minutes, an armored column of North Koreans came into view. Tanks led the way, and then tanks and personnel carriers alternated, with truckloads of infantry apparently mixed in a random manner. It seemed to Bradley that there were a lot more trucks loaded with infantry than there were tanks or armored personnel carriers. It took fifteen minutes for the column to pass. Captain Koon estimated it was a brigade-sized force.
Captain Koon motioned to the other two to quickly follow him, with the rapid up and down movement of the forearms with a closed fist. They quickly crept down the hill and stopped ten meters short of the road. “Sergeant Park, go first, quickly; we will follow in short intervals, with you, Major, next. I will bring up the rear.” Park crept to the edge of the road, looked both ways and, in a crouch, ran across. Bradley followed in thirty seconds after a nod from Koon. Once across the road, they slid down the hillside to the river, pausing in the brush along the bank. All surveyed the opposite shore for any sign of activity. Captain Koon motioned to Park to go first and drink. He did so; Bradley followed as soon as Sergeant Park crept back to their position. Captain Koon did likewise as soon as Bradley returned. Then they went halfway up the hill, staying between the river and the road. Major Bradley checked his compass on his watchband. They were steadily traveling in a generally southerly direction. By nightfall, they had covered almost fifteen kilometers of rugged terrain.
Captain Koon led them down to the river’s edge and said, “We have done well. We will rest. It is better to travel at night, but one needs moonlight. We will take three-hour watches. The watch will have the rifle. Sergeant Park, you will take the first watch, Major Bradley the second, and I the last. We will move when the moonlight is sufficient or at dawn if it is not.” Captain Koon indicated to Bradley to break out the MREs. Major Bradley never realized just how good a hot MRE could taste. After they had eaten, they gathered the paper and plastic waste and scraped a shallow hole with their hands in which to bury it. Bradley and Koon promptly fell asleep. Sergeant Park moved to a tree to lean against with the rifle across his lap, so that he could watch the riverbanks.
At 23:00 hours, as he was about to wake Major Bradley when another convoy of North Koreans moved down the road. Sergeant Park heard it coming and rolled over onto his stomach and covered the road with the rifle. Awakened by the noise, Major Bradley and Captain Koon rolled over on their stomachs. “Keep your face down, Major,” Koon whispered to Bradley. It shines very well even in the dark. It will be easy to see, even at fifty meters from the road. Bradley put his face into the dirt. Captain Koon carefully and slowly smeared dirt on his face and continued to watch as the column passed. It was larger than the first. It, too, had tanks, armored personnel carriers, trucks with infantry, and a number of covered trucks. Bradley raised his head so that his eyes were just above his forearm bent in front of him. He figured it must be another regiment or brigade sized unit, only it had more covered trucks; more ammunition, fuel, and food he thought.
Sergeant Park handed the rifle to Major Bradley, who accepted it without question and assumed the position the Sergeant previously occupied. Fifteen minutes later, multiple explosions occurred to the southwest. Two ancient South Korean F-4 Phantoms streaked overhead. The glow in the sky indicated the Phantoms had struck pay dirt in attacking the column. Bradley wanted to jump for joy, but the immediate thought of all those North Korean infantry now on the ground between them and the safety of the south was immensely sobering.
“What do we do now, Captain? Advance? Do you think the enemy will come back this way, or what?”
“No, Major, I do not. I think they will push their wrecked vehicles off the road, put their wounded on the side of the road, and continue to advance. We wait here for an hour, and then we keep heading south. Maybe we can pick up some weapons, canteens and so on from some of the dead. If it doesn’t look promising, we’ll skirt the attack site. It should be three or four kilometers from here.” Bradley looked at the dirt on the captain’s face and thought that might be a good idea, add a little camouflage. He did the same around his cheekbones, chin and forehead. Captain Koon just smiled. Bradley and Sergeant Park went to sleep. An hour later, Captain Koon shook them awake and led them out. Major Bradley picked up what was left of the case of MREs and fell in.
Five kilometers and two hours later, they approached the site of the attack. Sergeant Park said nothing, just pointed to himself and then out to the road where wounded and dead were laying. Captain Koon nodded his head yes and pointed to Major Bradley to stay put. Sergeant Park began to crawl forward slowly, up the hill, towards the road. Captain Koon followed his Sergeant by about ten meters to cover him with the Dae Woo. The dead and wounded had been laid out in a neat row all along the shoulder of the road for their medics. The unit had otherwise moved on. The dead and wounded stretched for as far as Park could see in the dark. Sergeant Park calculated that those two F-4 Phantoms must have inflicted several hundred casualties in strafing the trucks of infantry in the narrow defile.
Sergeant Park saw a couple of their medics fifty meters away attending the wounded towards the other end of the road. He crawled up on the shoulder and approached the first body. The man was still breathing but had an abdominal wound and appeared unconscious. Sergeant Park laid the man’s rifle aside, pulled his own bayonet from the sheath, put his hand over the man’s mouth, and stabbed him in the heart. The body jerked for a couple of seconds, and then lay still. Sergeant Park removed his web gear and picked up the rifle lying adjacent to the body. He crawled over to the next body, perhaps two meters away. This man was dead. As he was removing the web gear, a wounded soldier on the opposite side of the road sat up and yelled. Sergeant Park silenced him with a single shot from the AK-47. The medics looked around, as did many others. Park put his face down and did not move, as he was lying right alongside the dead North Korean. After several minutes, things returned to normal. Apparently, the medics decided that someone was in too much pain and committed suicide. Park finished removing the web gear, with its ammunition pouches filled with magazines for the AK-47, a canteen, and several hand grenades. He slipped over to the next body and picked up a third AK-47 and ammunition belt. He slowly pushed himself backwards down the hill feet first, watching for any sign of alarm, then crawled back with Captain Koon to where Major Bradley was waiting.
Captain Koon put on a set of web gear, slung the Dae Woo on his shoulder and handed one of the AK-47s to Major Bradley along with the other set of web gear. Captain Koon led them back four hundred meters around the last curve, then across the road and halfway up the hill, and then they skirted the kill site. Grey light was just a hint of the coming dawn. Captain Koon wanted to put some distance between the carnage and themselves. In a half crouch, he led them forward at a rather fast pace through the brush. An hour later, the sun was well up on the horizon, but not over the mountain. Koon carefully searched the terrain for a place they could hide for the day. He chose a rocky outcropping, the front of which was covered with brush. The overhang screened them from view above, and the brush from below. Captain Koon figured they had covered about twelve kilometers in all since midnight. At least they had some water in the canteens, and now each was armed. They all heard another convoy coming from the north. They lay in the brush until the convoy past.
Bradley, thinking he was starving, sat up and pulled three MREs from the case he was carrying. He looked at the menus, selected his own, and handed one each to Captain Koon and Sergeant Park. Captain Koon said, “From now on, we eat two meals a day. No noon meal, only breakfast and a late supper after we stop moving.” They ate in silence, each facing a different direction, and then gathered their trash to bury it. Koon indicated he would take the first watch, Park the second, and Bradley the last. Koon figured Bradley needed the most sleep right now and would be more refreshed for the last watch before dark. He was right.
At 16:00, Park shook Bradley from a sound sleep. Bradley nodded, sat up, rubbed his eyes, and crept forward a few feet. In effect, he and Park traded places. At 20:00 hours, Captain Koon sat up, rubbed his face, and shook his Sergeant awake. They ate another meal in silence. Captain Koon noted there were only three MRE’s left, so he pointed to them and then to each of themselves. Bradley understood and gave the other two a meal. He put the third in his BDU trousers cargo pocket. Captain Koon slowly surveyed the immediate area in all directions, and then led off. Another convoy passed them.
They took a break at midnight. Bradley and Koon promptly fell asleep. After thirty minutes, Sergeant Park shook them both awake. Koon took point again, the others following at ten-meter intervals. Yet another convoy passed them in the dark. At dawn, they were overlooking a village adjacent to the roadside. Civilians were milling about, and smoke curled from a few fires. Several burned buildings were obvious. It was obvious from several bodies lying in the dirt that the North Koreans did not consider South Koreans of this village to be fellow citizens. Apparently, the last convoy that passed them lingered here for a few hours. They watched the village for an hour, and then approached it in bounding overwatch. Captain Koon identified himself as an officer in the South Korean Army, which the villagers immediately recognized by his uniform. The North Koreans had committed numerous rapes in the village during their brief stay. The head man of the village informed them that a tremendous battle was raging for Seoul. Before the North Koreans came, they were watching some of the battle on their television sets. The head man advised them to turn due south and stay in the hills. They filled their canteens at one of the houses. The villagers provided them with two kilograms of rice each and asked them to hurriedly move on. Captain Koon thanked the villagers for their kindness and led off to the south. They had no more reached the brush when another battalion-sized convoy moved down the road. One kilometer and half an hour later, they found a suitable place for a layover. Now in a routine, they ate their last MRE. Captain Koon took the first watch while Bradley and Park slept.
At 18:00, all three were awake. Sergeant Park began to gather brush for a small fire. The two Koreans each poured a cup of water into his canteen cup and put a handful of rice in it. Bradley emulated them. In a few minutes, Sergeant Park had a small fire going which he fed with dead wood so that there was a minimum of smoke. After twenty minutes, they each set their cups of rice on the edge to boil. After eating their supper, they wiped out the canteen cups with leaves and put them back in the canteen covers. Bradley drank about half of the water left in his canteen. Captain Koon slowly led them down the hill towards the river. By now, it was twilight. They filled their canteens and moved back up the hill.
One kilometer later, they spotted a North Korean truck broken down alongside the road. They looked at each other but said nothing. They crept closer. Barely able to see it at one hundred meters, they observed that there was only a driver and an assistant. No other North Koreans appeared in the area. Both were leaning against a front wheel. Captain Koon whispered to Sergeant Park, “I’ll shoot the one on the right; you shoot the one on the left as soon as I fire.” Two shots rang out, and both North Koreans slumped with bullets in their chest. Sergeant Park moved out in a crawl, then a crouch. He attached the bayonet from the web gear to the AK-47 and dashed across the road. He bayoneted both in the chest. Their rifle fire had caused a flat in the truck. He quickly dragged the two bodies over the hill out of sight.
Bradley and Koon rushed the truck to examine the contents. It contained a mix of food and ammunition. Captain Koon broke open a box of magazines for the AK-47s, handed Major Bradley half a dozen, took as many for himself, and broke open a case of food. He shoved several packages into his shirt, handed Bradley several more, and opened a case of grenades. He hung or stuck one in every possible place about his body. Bradley jumped down, Koon handed him several more grenades, food and magazines for Sergeant Park. They heard an approaching truck as Sergeant Park appeared around the front from disposing of the bodies. All three quickly slid down the hill into the brush.
The truck stopped. The driver called out but received no answer. Park and Koon each slowly pulled out a grenade. The driver got down and with a flashlight, shined it around the truck. He noticed the flat tire and the pool of blood from the two dead Koreans. He yelled. A squad of North Koreans dismounted from the truck. Park and Koon pulled the pins of the grenades, held them for two seconds and threw them. All three ducked. The grenades exploded against the second truck, and Bradley opened fire with his AK-47. All three of them jumped up and fired into the truck and the North Koreans. It lasted perhaps ten seconds. Eight dead North Korean infantrymen and four drivers accounted for the total. The second truck also contained food and ammunition.
“Quickly,” said Koon, “get more grenades and magazines from the first truck and move up the hill.” Bradley climbed into the rear of the truck and handed Park a handful of magazines, a case of food, and grabbed several more grenades. Together, they ran up the hill. Captain Koon led them on a brisk walk, upright, just below the ridge of the hill. They didn’t stop moving for two hours. Bradley thought to himself, Christ, I might just have killed a couple of men, if the grenades didn’t get them. Several were still on their feet when I opened fire. I don’t feel any remorse about it. Why should I? They were the bad guys. Humph. I wonder if they will give me a combat Infantryman’s badge for this little stroll.
Now, in the distance, they could hear what sounded like thunder. It was very faint, but like thunder. All realized it was artillery and bombs from the battle for Seoul. The South Koreans were not going to surrender their capitol and largest city without a tremendous bloodletting.
Chapter 15
“Mr. President, my colleagues and I are deeply disturbed that you are considering going to the aid of what you call the Republic of Korea, or the South Koreans. Certainly, this will require a declaration of war. The invasion of South Korea by the North is not a direct threat to the United States. After all, the South Koreans threw us out after fifty years of safeguarding their freedoms and allowing them to become one of the economic power houses of East Asia. The Koreans danced in the streets with our departure. Remember the Koreans throwing rotten vegetables and eggs on our troops as they marched out? This did not go down well with the American public. For you to attempt to invoke the War Powers Act and order forces into Korea would be in violation of our constitution.”
“Tell me, Senator Kennely, will the Senate support a declaration of war to go to the aid of South Korea?”
“Mr. President, the only way the United States will enter that conflict is under the aegis of the United Nations. You know better than I that the chances of that are almost nonexistent. With the tremendous debate on whether or not the United States should even remain in the UN, and your earlier campaign remarks about moving the United Nations out of the United States, it really came down hard on a number of international nerves. The UN will not go to South Korea’s aid simply because you wish it to do so. They are not willing to field a nonexistent international force that they cannot afford. More importantly, there is a general fear that China might have something to do with this, and they do not wish to confront Chinese troops as occurred in the first Korean War.”
“Senator, will your party support a bill for the Declaration of War to go to the defense of South Korea or not?”
“Mr. President, I fear that not only my party, but a large number of your party, will not support it either. After being bogged down in the Balkans, in Afghanistan, and a tremendously expensive and essentially unsuccessful excursion into Iraq, I don’t believe that we can afford it or that the American people will support it. Not only that, but I, personally, and a number of my colleagues agree with me, question whether or not we would be militarily successful against the overwhelming forces that the North is throwing against the South. They are pouring over a million men into the South. We have only eight divisions nearby. What will you do if the Chinese enter into the war as they did before? You better be prepared to answer that question before anyone introduces a bill for a Declaration of War. I think about the best you can hope for is support for getting whatever American citizens are there out of there as quickly as possible.”
Turning to the Senate Minority Leader, a leader of his own party, Jason Thornton asked, “What do our party colleagues of the Senate say, Senator Cowart?”
“Mr. President, we are pretty much in agreement with our Democratic colleagues on this one.”
“Congressman Farrel, or do you prefer Mr. Speaker, what is your opinion of this, how does the House feel about our assistance to South Korea?”
“I’m afraid, Mr. President, that the House very closely reflects that of the Senate. The Koreans threw us out; now they are paying the price for it. No more American blood should be shed for a land war in Asia. No, Mr. President, I don’t believe there is any way that the House of Representatives would even consider passing a Declaration of War. If South Korea needs help, then let the Asian Tigers help. Where is Japan? Where is the Republic of the Philippines, where is Singapore? What are they doing? The hue and cry of the public would be worse than what we experienced in the days of the Vietnam War. There is no public support for another Korean War at all. No, I don’t believe this will get anywhere except get all of us thrown out of office. In point of fact, Mr. President, I even heard mention of impeachment if you attempt to put us in there under the War Powers Act. Look out your window, Mr. President. On only the second day of the attack, there are hundreds of demonstrators against our involvement walking the sidewalk out there. Do you see any supporters for our involvement? I don’t. Recall that the last President of our party was voted out of office after one term because of anti-terrorist commitments in Iraq, the Philippines, Indonesia, and against the drug lords in South America.”
“Congressman Klein, what do your Democratic colleagues in the House of Representatives say?”
“I’m afraid, Mr. President, that the consensus is almost unanimous. This is one we can’t win and should walk away from. It isn’t worth American blood. If the North wins, as they are likely to do, they will, over the course of the next twenty years or so, just run the entire peninsula into the ground. It will be a first-class basket case, and then, and only then, can change be effected. That change will have to come from inside, most likely in the form of a revolution. The Old Guard can’t keep the rest of the world out forever. Sooner or later, the people will learn and rebel. In that interim, they can continue to be a drain on China, who is supporting them with food and oil.”
“Well, Gentlemen, I thank you for your candor, and your time. I will seriously consider your advice. In the meantime, I intend to get our Americans out of there as quickly as possible, by any means necessary.”
“Mr. President, I don’t think you will have any difficulty, politically speaking, with that. I’m sure the public will support your attempts to get our people out of there as quickly as possible. Most certainly the Congress will.”
“Thank you, Gentlemen. Give my regards to the Senate and the House. I do respect our Constitution as the highest law of the land.”
